A Titaness for the Titan (TITANS, #5)

by Lazu, Sotia

  Legs still heavy with her release, Nikoleta tore the cobwebs from her mind. He shouldn’t leave. It wasn’t safe outside. Especially if he happened upon one of his brothers. He’d unravel faster.

  God, why couldn’t she just give in to this animal attraction? Why did she have to ruin everything?

  She wasn’t ruining anything; she was being true to herself. And if he couldn’t wait... Well, bummer.

  But it wasn’t only him who couldn’t wait; it was the world, with that pesky unraveling threat hanging over their heads. And it wasn’t freaking fair that she couldn’t just choose whether to sleep or not with the hot guy she remembered loving, without the added pressure.

  “Don’t go,” she said. “Please.”

  He shook his head, not turning to face her. “Every second I’m with you, I crave to be inside you. Unless you’re ready to be with me, I’d better go where I’m needed.”

  She needed him, but he blinked out of sight before she had time to tell him.

  Did she even have the right to, when she wouldn’t bond with him? And why wouldn’t she? Her soul called to him, and her body yielded to his thoughts as much as to his touch. What was she afraid of?

  This. This surge of feeling she hadn’t experienced in ages. This intense hunger. This certainty she wouldn’t be whole without him, ever. Giving her body to Coeus didn’t scare her; losing herself in him did.

  But what if being with him was how she’d find out who she really was? Not as Phoebe, but as Nikoleta? She was more than her past and her goals. She was her desires and her feelings, her hopes and fears—all the things she spent this lifetime shying away from.

  Coeus. He was both what she hoped for and what she feared.

  A knock on the door broke through her swirl of confusion. Had he come back? Had he heard her, despite the distance?

  “Come in.” Her voice trembled.

  The door creaked open, but nobody came in. “I’m sorry for interrupting,” a woman said. “Just wanted to tell Coeus that Nerites requests his presence in the council room, when you’re”—she hummed—“done. No rush. I just had to deliver the message before leaving, and you were taking your time. Which makes sense, but we’re in kind of a dire situation.”

  Nikoleta let out a half-hearted chuckle. “Coeus isn’t here.”

  The woman pushed the door all the way open and ducked her head inside. Long blond curls tumbled down to her waist, and her eyes had the same color as her sea-green robe when her gaze landed on Nikoleta. “Don’t tell me he ran out on you right after the bonding?” She rolled her eyes. “These guys can be such asses. I should know.” She crossed the distance to the bed and smiled. “I’m Pherusa, Prometheus’ soulmate. You knew me as Klymene, once upon a time.”

  Nikoleta’s heart leapt in her throat. This was her sister. Phoebe’s sister. She threw herself at Pherusa and wrapped her arms around her, only barely mindful of keeping the sheets between them. “Klymene, sister, I’ve missed you so.” Where did the words come from? Same place the happiness and love warming her up blossomed from. She had no siblings in this lifetime, but this woman was her sister. Her family.

  Pherusa helped her up off the bed. “Wait right there.” She disappeared out a second door and returned within seconds, holding out an identical robe to the one she wore. She waited for Nikoleta to wrap the garment around her and tie it at the waist, then asked, “You remember everything? From Phoebe’s life?”

  Nikoleta nodded. “Don’t you?”

  “At first it was only the occasional glimpse, but lately, I’ve been dreaming of when I was her. It’s like we’re... melding together. Weird, but not unpleasant.”

  “Weird is an understatement. It all came back to me at once, and I don’t know... I can’t tell how much is me and how much is her.” Nikoleta wanted to pace, but she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her, so she perched on the edge of the mattress. The pressure against her nether regions made her throb, a vivid reminder of Coeus’ attentions.

  Pherusa joined her, taking her hand in both of hers. “You are her, and she is you. You share a soul that drives you like it did her. A kind soul, that happens to be bonded to that of a Titan.”

  It sounded so simple. And Pherusa could be right, except for the last part.

  “We didn’t... We’re not bonded,” Nikoleta muttered.

  Pherusa’s grip on her tightened imperceptibly. “What do you mean?”

  Averting her gaze, Nikoleta said, “We didn’t go through with it. I was scared, and I think he saw it. He left.”

  “Carp.” Pherusa hopped to her feet, dragging Nikoleta up too. “We need to tell Nerites. He’s in charge when Father is gone. Come.”

  Nikoleta expected her to lead her out of the room, but Pherusa blinked them to a different hall than the one she’d been into before. It had to be the council room. Pherusa pulled her toward where Eros, another male—Nerites?—and Prometheus watched a swirling ball of water that formed between Circe’s outspread palms.

  Prometheus looked as serious and focused as ever—God, Nikoleta remembered his look of concentration as vividly as if she’d seen him only yesterday. He raised a finger, and Pherusa stopped in her tracks, holding Nikoleta back.

  Nikoleta was mesmerized by the shapes in the water. They were... They were images. Moving images. This was how immortals did live streaming? She swallowed back a laugh. It would come out shrill, because there was nothing funny about what they were watching.

  Back-lit by the rising sun, a mountain split in two, boulders cascading down its sides, to crush against an invisible barrier. People ran out of the houses beneath, and into cars, but the roads were packed. Would they make it out in time?

  Her heart hammered in her ribcage, horror squeezing the air from her lungs. Bile churned in her stomach and rose up her throat. They should do something. She should do something. Why were they here, watching, when these people were about to—

  Eros winced. “The shield won’t last long.”

  “It’ll have to last till Epimetheus and Hyperion guide the mortals to safety. The mental net they’ve cast is also jamming all electronic signals and compelling the humans to believe they’re running from an earthquake,” Circe said. “But that’s not our greatest problem.”

  The scene shifted to something dark, and Nikoleta took a step closer. Her mind took a second to make sense of what she was seeing. A giant with a few dozen heads and a myriad of arms was fighting mermen and what looked like a humongous octopus underwater. Fifty heads and a hundred arms. She was seeing a Hecatoncheiras. Eros and Nereus had been right; Kronos was bringing out the big guns.

  A form she knew attacked the creature of nightmares.

  “Coeus is there.” Prometheus let out a howl of joy. “He’ll show them how it’s done.”

  Pherusa winced. “About that... Apparently, he’s still unbonded.”

  And Nikoleta’s headache was back.

  Chapter Eight

  COEUS NEEDED TO JOIN the fight. Any fight. He had to keep his mind and body occupied, to stop thinking about how much he ached to be joined with Nikoleta. Worse, how her rejection sliced him to the core.

  She feared him. How could she believe he’d hurt her? Do something she wouldn’t welcome? Maybe it’ll be okay, wasn’t what his soulmate should be thinking when it came to mating with him.

  She’d wanted him. He’d tasted it as much as heard it in the resounding yes that was her initial reaction. Saw it in the writhing of her body. She was drawn to him. Sooner or later, she’d give in. But they didn’t have later, and he hated how sooner was too soon for her.

  Which was why he’d blinked to the throne room and had a sea daimon take him right outside the border of Vythos. Fleeing fish helped him spot the trouble. He’d always been good at spotting the trouble. He’d rush in, head first, win—except for that one time with Zeus—and return to his cave, to make love to his soulmate.

  Like he should be doing this very moment.

  He spotted the Hecatoncheiras—a Centima
ne he’d be called now, the Latin name easier for non-Greeks to pronounce—swatting at a dozen mermen with one swipe. A green octopus, as large as the Centimane, restricted several of the nightmare’s arms, but Nereus’ forces were taking a serious beating.

  Time for some Titan action.

  Coeus ordered his body to unfold to his true size. His feet touched the bottom of the sea, and his head came just shy of the surface, as he bunched his fist and aimed for the nearest of the Centimane’s heads. The nightmare swung at him, and Coeus ducked and kicked, careful not to harm any of the half-man, half-fish creatures around him.

  “Leave,” he thought at them.

  They must have heard him, since sea creatures communicated mentally underwater, but they didn’t fall back, instead diving under the Centimane’s arms, to thrust their spears into his legs and underbelly. One of them got near the Centimane’s chest and grew, changing his shape, until he became another huge-ass octopus—this one blue.

  Sea daimons. Their shape-shifting abilities came in handy in situations like this.

  Coeus called to the sharp corrals and rocks by his feet. They ripped off the seabed and reformed into a long, sharp sword as they reached his outstretched hand. He gripped the handle of the makeshift weapon and mentally screamed, “Duck,” before slashing at the Centimane.

  The octopodes melted out of focus, as the blade of Coeus’ rock-sword sliced through more than half of the Centimane’s heads.

  A thick, black, viscous fluid poured out of the wounds, muddling the waters, but Coeus controlled the elements. The sea itself told him where the beast stood. He mentally screamed for the mermen and sea daimons to leave, as he stabbed and slashed at the nightmare, until the sea was pitch black and the Centimane no longer moved.

  Now that was refreshing.

  Coeus watched while the Centimane’s prone form turned to rock. Out of the corner of his eye, a golden blur made him spin to the left.

  King Nereus hovered by his shoulder, fully armored. “The stories say the Hecatoncheires were stronger than the Titans.” The king’s braided hair and beard looked gray and matted, but his pale-blue eyes sparkled with glee.

  Coeus knew the feeling. They shared a victory, even if the war had yet to be fought. “The stories are wrong.” Things might be different on the surface, without the sea daimons’ assistance, but there was no reason to admit it.

  “The others will need your help,” Nereus said. “My daimons will come with you to Olympus, if you’ll have them.”

  Water swirled around Coeus, and five daimons surrounded him in their human forms. He looked at his hands. No tremors. He could do this. “Hold on tight, boys,” he said, holding out one hand.

  The daimons each grasped a finger, and Coeus blinked with them to the base of Mount Olympus.

  He arrived in the middle of chaos. The mountain had crumbled down, and Kronos stood in its place, naked and as big as the mountain itself, long black tresses whipping his face, as a whirlwind formed around him.

  Epimetheus, Hyperion, and Atlas surrounded him. Were they creating the cyclone? Was this how they meant to fight? Kronos had as much power over the elements as any of them, and he was physically stronger than the others combined. Perk of having been their king in ye olde days.

  Epimetheus threw a ball of fire at Kronos. It slammed into his chest and made him growl, but when the flames faded, there was no damage. Of course.

  Atlas blinked right behind Kronos, going for a choke hold. The fire had been a diversion.

  Kronos twirled in Atlas’ grasp and punched him in the solar plexus, hard enough to slam him into an invisible barrier surrounding the area. At least someone had thought to contain the damage. Greece had been pretty much destroyed during the Titanomachy. Or had that been the first Titanomachy?

  Whichever it was, Coeus had been on the losing side. Just like he’d be this time around. There was no sense in fighting Kronos. He was unstoppable.

  No. These weren’t his thoughts. He met Kronos’ gaze and saw his smirk.

  “Brother, you know better than to join them,” Kronos roared. “Help me beat these weaklings. We’ll build a new world. We’ll be kings.”

  Nikoleta wouldn’t want him to help destroy the world she grew up in. “No.” Coeus fought his brother’s sinister influence and forged spikes out of the rocks and boulders around Kronos. They wouldn’t hold him long, but they’d buy the rest of his brothers some time to attack again.

  Why weren’t they attacking?

  “Hyperion and I are holding mortals at bay,” Epimetheus said in his head. “It’s up to you, Atlas, and Prometheus to beat Kronos.”

  “I have sea daimons with me.” Coeus nodded at the shape shifters, who assumed the forms of giant prehistoric beasts and rushed Kronos.

  “What are we? Chopped liver?” a woman asked. A blink of an eye later, two females as large as the Titans blinked into existence. Titanesses? Would Nikoleta have this power over her body once they bonded?

  A ripple shook the earth beneath Coeus, and a fissure formed between his feet. It gained length and width, until it was a gaping chasm. His hands were trembling. Was he doing this?

  “You’re not bonded?” Atlas yelled, his eyes blazing gold. “You can’t be here. You’re causing more harm than good.”

  Kronos hit Coeus with a blast of ice-cold wind that had him ripping up the earth.

  Coeus tried to blink away, back to Nereus’ palace. He had to claim Nikoleta, or they were lost. He couldn’t focus his power. The wind slapped at him, and the ground tore open further, as fire scorched his insides.

  As he watched, Rhea—not reborn, but looking the way he remembered her—appeared beside Kronos in her full, Titaness size. In her cupped hand, she held a woman. Coeus’ heart stuttered. Was it Nikoleta?

  No. Now that Rhea turned, he saw the woman bore no resemblance to his female.

  To his left, Epimetheus cried out, “Elpida.”

  Rhea smirked at him over her shoulder, but the stretch of her lips didn’t reach her eyes. “This time, she didn’t escape. I’m sorry, Epimetheus.” She sounded sincere, but she handed the female to Kronos. Coeus saw the glimmering metal on the woman’s wrists, as Kronos clasped her head and shook. The tearing of muscle and snapping of bone echoed in the sudden silence.

  “This is what I’ll do to your females, one by one, before I crush your bones and send you straight to Tartarus,” Kronos boomed. The glee in his tone was sickening.

  Epimetheus bellowed and rushed forward, his shoulder digging into Kronos’ stomach and sending him flying backward. He tore a blade of rock from the side of the mountain and thrust it at Kronos’ chest, but Kronos rolled aside, flattening buildings in his path, and the makeshift weapon merely grazed him.

  The din picked up around Coeus as he watched a single droplet of his brother’s blood fall to the ground, but a female voice made its way through it. “We didn’t need that distraction.”

  Circe.

  Coeus looked around but couldn’t see the witch. “The woman. Is she...?”

  “Elpida. Pandora, from your time. She’s immortal. She’ll be okay if we beat that ape. Do your part, Titan. Bond with your mate and come find us. Before it’s too late.”

  Chapter Nine

  NIKOLETA LEANED ON Nerites as they walked up the stairs. Despite the unsettling feeling teleporting caused in her stomach, she’d rather someone blinked her to bed, where she could lie still in the dark. Everyone with the power to teleport had joined the battle, however, with the sole exception being Nerites’ mate—freaking Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty—who was still growing into her powers.

  Magda, as Aphrodite went by these days, offered to help anyway, but Nerites shook his head over her shoulder, a grim expression on his face, and Nikoleta opted for walking.

  She was half-regretting this choice now. The stairs felt endless on the way up. It might have something to do with how she’d been on her feet for eighteen hours, or that she was starving. Or that she’d watched Kronos snap a wo
man’s neck by shaking her like he was a terrier and she was a chew toy. Nerites and Aphrodite assured her the woman would be all right, as would Coeus, even though the ground had torn open beneath him.

  “This is all too much,” Nikoleta whispered.

  Nerites tightened his hold around her waist. “I can carry you the rest of the way, if you’d like.”

  She shook her head but didn’t pull away, pausing to catch her breath. “I didn’t mean the staircase. This. All of it. I’m in an underwater palace, with the prince of the sea world, while a war that can destroy the universe is being fought by immortal, all-powerful creatures. And I apparently used to be one of them.” She started up again. “And I need to make love to someone I barely know, because we’re meant to be, or he’ll unravel.”

  Nerites nodded. “I understand.” He pulled her to a stop when they reached the landing. “I do understand. Magda landed into my life out of nowhere. Dove into it, more specifically. When we both realized she was the reincarnation of Aphrodite... Let’s say it took some getting used to.”

  She forced out a laugh. “Were you working against the Doomsday Clock too?”

  Nerites let go and ran his fingers through his shoulder-length blond curls as they reached the landing. “No, but we had our issues. She—Aphrodite—had Circe wipe her from my mind when we broke up. The first time around. Oceanus, this is hard to explain. Anyway, there were trust issues. I had issues trusting her. Forgiving her for hiding... everything. And of course her human life was turned upside down. But we belonged together, and that was all that mattered. We have eternity to get our relationship right.”

  He headed down the long hallway, and Nikoleta walked as fast as she could without the robe coming loose, to catch up with him.

  “So you’re saying I should go ahead with the bonding, and figure things out later?” she asked.

  “I’m saying think of what’s at stake.” He stopped at a door, opened it, and motioned for her to enter.

  Right. Nikoleta wanted to be angry that he was putting this on her, that he was adding to the weight already burdening her shoulders and making her head hurt, but she was running out of steam. Or maybe she was tired of fighting what she felt for Coeus.